School officials ponder privacy issues involving section of Healthy Youth Survey
Thursday, August 21, 2008 11:41 PM PDT
By Carrie Pederson
Printable version
E-mail this articleSubstance abuse prevention groups in Cowlitz County are asking for more in-depth screening on students attitudes on drugs, alcohol and smoking.
Since 2004, students in all Cowlitz County school districts have been taken the Healthy Youth Survey every other year to provide substance prevention groups with information.
Districts have had the option to tear off a sheet with more detailed and personal questions, but prevention groups say federal programs are requiring them to get answers to those questions to qualify for grants.
The optional tear-off survey is the “parent protection” section of the survey, Brian McCrady of the Cowlitz County Substance Abuse Coalition told the Kelso School Board on Monday. They ask students how involved they are with their parents, and how harmful their parents perceive use of drugs and alcohol.
“I think it’s good information to have,” he said. If students aren’t feeling connected or validated by their families they are at higher risk of substance abuse, he said.
The board put off a decision until later this fall, but one school board member had reservations.
“I thought (the tear-off sheet) was rather intrusive to the student’s personal and family life,” board member Diane Dick said.
“Are we going to get in the business of guiding parents on how to support their child’s school esteem issues and making sure they have more fun?” she asked, explaining that school activities should be related to learning.
Schools shouldn’t be used to conduct surveys just “because it’s convenient,” she said
Woodland and Toutle school districts have used the tear-off sheet in the past. Kalama, Kelso, Longview and Castle Rock districts have not.
Parents can remove their children from taking the survey. Students also may skip any questions.
“I understand the sensitivity of these questions,” McCrady said. “We’re trying to be flexible.”
With grant applications due in September, the Cowlitz County Substance Abuse Coalition has had to find other means of getting “parent protection” questions answered, McCrady said. This summer the group surveyed youth at the Cowlitz County Fair.
Not including the sheet “could make you ineligible for a drug-free communities grant,” McCrady told the Kelso School Board at the Monday meeting. That federal grant provides $100,000 a year to groups such as the coalition and Longview and Castle Rock drug-free communities programs.
“Schools are imperative” to the coalition’s work, McCrady said. They provide the best cross-section of youth population, he said.
McCrady will speak with the Kalama School Board about the issue Monday.
Students answer the survey in the fall. Kelso sends out notes to parents to explain what the survey is about, and the board will review that letter next month before it is sent out.
Board member Patty Wood said her she thought some of the questions are inappropriate to ask elementary school students.
Furthermore, she said she thought the Healthy Youth Survey is meant to evaluate drugs and alcohol use and not whether “my children are having fun with me.”
Some questions
These questions may be added to the Healthy Youth Survey administered in schools across the state every other year.
Questions for elementary school students
• Do your parents give you lots of chances to do fun things?
• Do you enjoy spending time with your mother? Father?
• If you had a personal problem, could you ask mom or dad for help?
• How often do your parents tell you they are proud of something you have done?
For middle and high school students only
• Does your family have clear rules about alcohol and drug use?
• Would your parents know if you did not come home on time?
• If you carried a handgun without your parents’ permission, would you be caught by them?
• How wrong do your parents feel it would be for you to drink beer? Wine? Hard liquor? Smoke cigarettes? Smoke marijuana?
• If you skipped school, would you be caught by your parents?
momto1 wrote on Aug 22, 2008 6:38 AM:
JustMyOpinion wrote on Aug 22, 2008 9:37 AM:
DUH wrote on Aug 22, 2008 10:01 AM:
longview citizen wrote on Aug 22, 2008 10:47 AM:
In order to clean our community up and decrease the drug crime we must open our minds and allow some intrusion into our personal lives to find where we need to address our efforts and concerns.
It is sad we must ALL pay the consequences for some poor choices made by others. "
my2cents wrote on Aug 22, 2008 1:17 PM:
Viewpoint wrote on Aug 22, 2008 1:22 PM:
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